


A Cozy Afternoon

by Ceeya (ceeya)



Series: Sakura x Lucien [3]
Category: Naruto, 恋与制作人 | Liàn Yǔ Zhì Zuò Rén | Mr. Love: Queen's Choice (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Teasing Lucien, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27606350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceeya/pseuds/Ceeya
Summary: It was just another typical weekend, but sometimes typical is all that's needed to make an atypical decision.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Xǔ Mò | Lucien
Series: Sakura x Lucien [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2018209
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	A Cozy Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dijayeah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dijayeah/gifts).



Sakura blinked blearily, squinting against the sunlight streaming from the paneled windows. She turned to her side, pulling up the comforter and burying in her head amongst the pillows, cursing the fact that she didn’t close the curtains before going to sleep but too lazy to sit up and close them now.

She was drifting off to dreamland, seeing a blurry spectre of a man pulling her along a sunlit garden path, their footsteps softened by the dirt and grass. She was about to turn her head to view the face of her companion when pinecones from the tree hit her head consecutively.

_ *tok tok tok* _

Her eyes snapped open at the sound, focusing on the doorway as the knocking tapered off and the doorknob twisted and opened, revealing Lucien still wearing his sleeping gown holding a cup of hot beverage. He padded forward, his soft slippers muffling his steps on the cool tiles, and sat on the edge of the bed while Sakura sat up and shuffled to make space, stretching her hands up and feeling her muscles pull and relax at the action.

She grasped the offered mug and took in the nutty smell of coffee, her lips twitching to a smile when she caught a whiff of cinnamon and vanilla, her favorite combination. A glance up in thanks had her looking back down at the beverage, her cheeks burning at the amused and tender look on his face.

“Good morning.” She mumbled onto the rim of the mug.

“Good  _ afternoon _ .” was the reply she got, the stress on the word followed by a throaty chuckle.

Sakura sputtered, thankfully managing to control herself and swallow the hot gulp of coffee before it went spewing everywhere. Unfortunately, the accompanying inhale made the liquid burn down her throat and trigger a coughing fit. Luckily, Lucien was prudent in taking the cup from her to prevent any spills, with the other hand lightly rubbing down her back.

“What  _ time _ is it?” She wheezed out once proper air flow had slightly returned to her lungs.

“Around noon.”

“Ugh...I can’t believe I slept that long.”

“It’s only expected.” Lucien drawled out, “with how tired you got last night.”

Sakura’s shoulders jerked as she controlled the impulse to react, turning to glare daggers at the man who kept a gentle, unassuming smile on his lips but the light twinkling in his eyes gave him away.

It was good that they were in private, she still wasn’t used to him saying  _ misleading _ statements in public, remembering the times when she could barely look at their colleagues in the eye after one such comment. Though surprise was still better than whatever Youran’s team was doing. Every time they came over for a joint filming, Minor would waggle his eyebrows at her when Lucien acted familiar in any way. Kiki would give her thumbs up signs surreptitiously while Willow would run her eyes over Lucien and then give her a suggestive smirk. Even Youran would giggle or try to hide a smile if she was feeling sympathetic. Thank god for Anna, who managed to keep them all in line and acting even the tiniest bit professionally or she would have run off to calm herself from punching the entire set to smithereens.

The memory of it all distracted her that she didn’t notice him coming closer until one hand was on her cheek, turning her to face him. Her green eyes widened at the sight of his proximity. He was so close that she could only stare at his eyes, it’s lavender shade looking almost dark at this distance.

“Why is your mind so far away,” Goosebumps traveled up her arms as the breath from his words breezed against her lips, “when I’m right here in front of you?”

He drew a bit closer and she felt her eyes close as her lips tingled, waiting for expected kiss.

“I have lunch prepared out in the dining room, with your favorite  _ dessert _ .” His voice, deeper than usual, rumbled against her ear, his lower lip lightly catching against the studded butterfly earring she forgot to remove.

Her breath hitched while he drew back, the frustration visible on her eyes, which only caused a devious smirk to show on his face. He then took the cup of coffee and quietly left the room.

The click of the door caused shriek to build up on her throat that she muffled in one pillow and her other hand took another fluffy pillow to throw against the door.

After a quick shower later saw her sitting at the table across from Lucien, biting onto one tempura aggressively, still not over his teasing. It was an even more frustrating lunch, with him brushing his fingers against hers, his dark eyes boring her while he takes bites from his own plate, and then, just when she thinks she would scream from the tension, he placed his chopsticks down, stood up, and went to the kitchen to grab the dessert.

Sakura tensed up and her apprehension grew when she saw the box of mochi. She loved mochi and it was a fairly innocent dessert, but she wouldn’t put it past him to find a way to make it  _ suggestive _ . And so she was disconcerted when they finished the dessert without any issue. In fact, he was so detached that if she was any less sure of herself, she would start questioning the entire lunch episode.

Once dessert wasfinished, he pushed her to the direction of the library while he cleaned up, no matter how much she protested that he had already prepared everything. Ultimately, it’s a battle that she lost when he brought up that she was his guest and it was one way for him to repay what she previously did for him.

So here she was, browsing the enormous library that still left her in awe every time she came in. The amount of information held in this one room was more than she could have even imagined back in Konoha. And yes, in this world, everything could be searched with a click of a link, but there was still something about holding physical books that made it special.

Spying the set of old medical journals she was looking for up on the top shelf, she immediately used chakra to walk up and pull one volume out, channeling her chakra to her back and the soles of her feet so she could balance herself while reading through the pages.

This was how Lucien found her, 4 feet above the floor and leaning against the wall like she was on solid ground. A huff escaped him as he pushed the wheeled ladder beside her, climbing up the steps to stop beside her.

“Is that really so interesting that you couldn’t spend 10 seconds to push the ladder?” A soft teasing tone crept up on her and she pulled herself out from the world of letters and ink, mentally bookmarking the last spot she read.

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you were in my position. You  _ live _ with these books.” The words were an accusation, but there was no heat in her voice, just a contented sigh accompanying the soft thud of the book closing shut. 

“Yes, and as someone who lives with them, I can tell you that they’re not going anywhere. And that you can pull them out and enjoy them on the couch instead of straining your muscles with that position. As a  _ doctor _ , you know your legs will cramp up later.”

Lucien reached out a hand, but rather than grabbing the book she offered, he grabbed her wrist instead, lightly leading her to the ladder and then down each step, not once moving his eyes away from her.

Once her feet touched the ground, she was moved over to sit on the chaise, pulling the throw blanket away to make room for them both. She responded to his pointed look by pulling her feet up and settling against the cushion, opening the pages to return to her reading. 

His laughter teased the edges of her attention as he took his own opened book and his reading glasses from the side table and sat down beside her, joining her in this moment of tranquility.

Time passed with only the sounds of pages turning and a shuffling of positions. Before they realised it, Sakura was already sitting sideways with her back snuggled against Lucien’s side while his arm was relaxing against the back of the chaise and his fingers gently playing with her hair.

By the time Sakura pulled herself from the book and registered her position, her resolve was clear. She moved Lucien’s hand away, gaining his attention, and stood up, turning to face him.

She could see him about to ask the question but she preempted that by putting one hand on his knee and leaning forward to meet his lips with a kiss, her other hand shifting his glasses out of the way. The kiss deepened for a beat and then she pulled back up, running her tongue against her lips as they stretched into a smile.

“That’s my answer.” She finally said, prompting the man to quickly yank her down into his embrace, burying his face against her hair.

The  _ ‘Thank you’ _ was a ragged whisper that ran across her neck as his arms squeezing against her revealed the desperation and relief he tried to hide with his distance and teasing.


End file.
